New Food Code: Chicken fat Ice Cream?

New Zealand
consumers could end up eating ‘ice cream’ made from chicken
fat, following controversial new food standards unveiled
this week.

The planned changes could also threaten New
Zealand’s international reputation as a top producer of
quality ice cream.

A new definition for the kiwi icon is
contained in revised food labelling rules, which could
become law later this year. The food reforms follow a
six-year review by the Australia New Zealand Food
Authority.

Under the new food standards code, New Zealand
products defined as ‘ice cream’ are no longer required to
contain a minimum 10 per cent milk fat.

The move has
angered the ice cream industry throughout Australia and New
Zealand. Industry leaders are questioning why a Standard of
Identity has been retained for butter and cream, but not for
ice cream.

New Zealand’s largest ice cream manufacturer,
Tip Top Ice Cream, says the new code is bad news for
consumer protection.

Chris Taylor, General Manager,
Marketing says the new proposal removes an important
benchmark between real ice cream and other frozen
confectionary. He says the changes will only cause consumer
confusion.

“The new code ignores the way New Zealand ice
cream has traditionally been made,” says Mr Taylor. “Ice
cream here must be made with a minimum level of milk fat of
10%. Milk fat is the essential component, which makes ice
cream as we know it.

“But under the new standards,
manufacturers could substitute milk fat for water, vegetable
oil or even chicken fat. As long as they include a tiny
token amount of ‘milk products’ they can label their product
‘ice cream’”.

Mr Taylor says New Zealand enjoys an
international reputation as a high quality ice cream
producing nation. Unscrupulous operators could weaken or
undermine this reputation by switching to inferior
ingredients like chicken fat.

“When consumers buy ice
cream they want to know it is ice cream, and not clever
flavouring.”

Low Fat Ice Cream

Tip Top Ice Cream is
also warning consumers to be wary of planned changes as they
apply to ‘low fat’ brands of ice cream.

Mr Taylor says
manufacturers currently market low fat products containing
no more than one-third the normal level of fat content. But
under the new rules, manufacturers can decide for themselves
what constitutes ‘low fat’.

“What one manufacturer might
label “low fat’ or ‘lite’ might still be higher in fat
content than many other (low fat) products on the
market.”

The Australia New Zealand Food Authority has
set the 17th of May as the deadline for final submissions on
the new reforms.

Industry leaders in this country plan to
work with the Australian Ice Cream Forum in opposition to
the changes.

*Ice Cream consumption

 New
Zealanders are among the world’s biggest fans of ice cream,
with an average consumption of 16 to 18 litres per
head.

 The New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers
Association says international research shows consumers turn
away from ice cream in countries where the product has been
allowed to have non-dairy fats.

 Countries that
maintain a high cream content in their ice cream have the
greatest consumption per capita. (USA –22 litres per head,
Australia – 19 litres per head, New Zealand – 18 litres per
head, Demark – 12 litres per head).

 The United
Kingdom, the only EU Member State allowing the use of
non-milk fat in product labelled ‘ice cream’ has a
consumption of only 6 litres per
head.

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